1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor equipped wheel support bearing assembly having a load sensor incorporated therein for detecting a load imposed on a bearing assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
As a technique for detecting a load acting on each of vehicle wheels, a sensor equipped wheel support bearing assembly has been suggested, in which a sensor unit made up of a strain generating member and a strain sensor fitted to the strain generating member is fitted to a stationary ring of the bearing assembly and this strain generating member is of a kind having at least two contact fixing segments which are to be fixed to the stationary member and also having a cutout portion at at least one location between the neighboring contact fixing segments with the strain sensor disposed in this cutout portion (such as disclosed in the Patent Document 1 listed below).
According to the sensor equipped wheel support bearing assembly of the type referred to above, when a load is imposed on a rotatable ring incident to the travel of an automotive vehicle, the stationary ring deforms through rolling elements and such deformation brings about a strain in the sensor unit. The strain sensor provided in the sensor unit detects the strain induced in the sensor unit. If relations between strains and loads are determined beforehand by means of a series of experiments and/or simulations, the load or the like imposed on a vehicle wheel can be detected from an output of the strain sensor.